pharmaka

After all, materialists and New Agers, sceptics and shamans, are all united in facing the death of ourselves and our loved ones — a process that remains, even for the most committed sceptic, a mystery poised at the knife edge of meaning and the void. And mysterious ordeals sometimes require mysterious protocols.
via Erik Davis …

Evolutionary and cognitive scientists are currently working to identify the brain areas engaged in the activities of assessing value, judging equivalence, and detecting cheaters, which are involved in any relation of social exchange. It would thus appear that we're hard-wired for trade―whose adaptive value is unquestionable e.g. procuring by barter the food that will balance …